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    English Language in Trinidad and Tobago

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    Solomon Thomas
    The population of Trinidad and Tobago is highly diverse, composed mostly of those with West Indian ancestry from Africa and East Indian ancestry, as well as smaller groups from Asia, Europe, China, and the Middle East. This diversity is reflected in the languages spoken, including English, Trinidadian Creole, and Tobagonian Creole. While English is the official language, the Creole dialects are more commonly used domestically. Trinidadian Creole has been influenced by languages from ethnic groups including Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, and French. Tobagonian Creole is more similar to other Lesser Antillean Creoles and retains more influences from African languages.

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    English Language in Trinidad and Tobago

    Uploaded by

    Solomon Thomas
    120 views2 pages
    The population of Trinidad and Tobago is highly diverse, composed mostly of those with West Indian ancestry from Africa and East Indian ancestry, as well as smaller groups from Asia, Europe, China, and the Middle East. This diversity is reflected in the languages spoken, including English, Trinidadian Creole, and Tobagonian Creole. While English is the official language, the Creole dialects are more commonly used domestically. Trinidadian Creole has been influenced by languages from ethnic groups including Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, and French. Tobagonian Creole is more similar to other Lesser Antillean Creoles and retains more influences from African languages.

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    The population of Trinidad and Tobago is highly diverse, composed mostly of those with West Indian ancestry from Africa and East Indian ancestry, as well as smaller groups from Asia, Europe, China, and the Middle East. This diversity is reflected in the languages spoken, including English, Trinidadian Creole, and Tobagonian Creole. While English is the official language, the Creole dialects are more commonly used domestically. Trinidadian Creole has been influenced by languages from ethnic groups including Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, and French. Tobagonian Creole is more similar to other Lesser Antillean Creoles and retains more influences from African languages.

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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    120 views2 pages

    English Language in Trinidad and Tobago

    Uploaded by

    Solomon Thomas
    The population of Trinidad and Tobago is highly diverse, composed mostly of those with West Indian ancestry from Africa and East Indian ancestry, as well as smaller groups from Asia, Europe, China, and the Middle East. This diversity is reflected in the languages spoken, including English, Trinidadian Creole, and Tobagonian Creole. While English is the official language, the Creole dialects are more commonly used domestically. Trinidadian Creole has been influenced by languages from ethnic groups including Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, and French. Tobagonian Creole is more similar to other Lesser Antillean Creoles and retains more influences from African languages.

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    The population of Trinidad and Tobago is very diverse and is mostly made up of West Indians

    who originated from Africa and the rest are East Indians. Approximately 17% of the populace is
    composed of different groups of people mainly from Asia, especially Western Europe, China and
    the Middle East. Due to the diverse population in the islands, the languages as expected are
    diverse too. Trinidad and Tobago is lucky to be one of the most multicultural societies in the
    world, with many of its inhabitants having ancestors from Africa, India, Europe, China, Syria,
    Lebanon and many others. This mixing of cultures has occurred due to European colonization
    which put Trinidad and Tobago under the rule of three main entities, Spain, France and finally
    England Tobago was colonized by England, France, Holland, Latvia and Spain. As a result of the
    mixing of the previously mentioned languages, we now have what is called:

    English language in Trinidad and Tobago


    This is the official language in the two islands. It is used in hospitals, schools, for government,
    and also for business purposes. The country even has English television and radio station, and
    English newspapers too. People from both islands speak and write Standard English in official
    settings. It is, however, important to note that each island prefers its own kind of Creole English.
    The two types of English include Trinidadian Creole and Tobagonian Creole. These forms of
    English have their own unique grammar and articulation. As a result of this, most local phrases
    and words have found their way into the day to day communication. A few of the words in these
    two dialects are actually Standard English words that have assumed, to some extent, different
    meanings.

    While Standard English is mostly used in official settings, Tobagonian Creole and Trinidadian
    Creole are mostly used in domestic settings and for communication between members of the
    society and friends. It is important to note that these two types of Creole are not similar as most
    people believe. This difference could be as a result of the history of the two islands and the
    ethnic groups that make up the population of each island.

    Trinidadian Creole in Trinidad and Tobago


    This is a Creole dialect that is spoken in the whole of Trinidad. Trinidadian Creole has been
    influenced largely by the diverse population in Trinidad. The population is made up of people of
    Chinese origin, East Indian descent, African decent, Mid-Eastern and European descent (mostly
    Spanish, Portuguese, Lebanese, French and Syrian descent) and also people of mixed race. Most
    of these groups of people came to the island as slaves, labourers, or immigrants thus having an
    influence on the language. Trinidadian Creole has borrowed a few words from different
    languages such as Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, French, and English.

    The lexicons from these languages have an effect on all the elements of Trinidadian Creole.
    Various words can be used for the same meaning in both the Standard English and Trinidadian
    Tobagonian Creole in Trinidad and Tobago
    This is an English-based Creole dialect that is normally spoken in Tobago. It is different from
    Trinidadian Creole and is a little bit similar to other Lesser Antillean Creoles whose grammar
    and vocabularies are made up of components from African and Carib languages. When
    compared with Trinidadian Creole, this dialect in its purest nature has a lot of similarities to the
    Creole that is used in Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands. It has words that are not found in
    Trinidad. Its grammar is also closer to its West African roots as compared to Trinidad’s.

    https://www.rmclanguages.com/blog/language-history-of-trinidad-and-tobago
    https://www.studycountry.com/guide/TT-language.htm#:~:text=Trinidadian%20Creole%20in
    %20Trinidad%20and%20Tobago&text=Most%20of%20these%20groups%20of,Chinese%2C
    %20French%2C%20and%20English.

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